


For Everything

by phantomsrevolution



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Alex Has Anxiety (Julie and The Phantoms), Alex centric, Anxiety, Crying, Everyone Needs A Hug, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Julie and the phantoms - Freeform, Los Angeles, Santa Monica Pier, Two Shot, alex has sisters fight me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-13
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:06:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27538060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phantomsrevolution/pseuds/phantomsrevolution
Summary: “You don’t need to go after him.”“I do.” Luke says.“Luke-““No, Reg, something’s wrong!” Luke exclaims, snapping to face the bassist.“Yeah, and don’t you think he would tell us about it if he needed to?” Reggie asks.“No! Reggie, he used to do this all the time! It took him a week to tell us his parents kicked him out! He never wanted to tell us anything that went down with his… parents…” Luke trails off, realizing what Alex is dealing with. “Shit.”And Luke is gone. Poofed off to find Alex.-Or, Alex goes to his old house.
Relationships: Alex & Julie Molina & Luke Patterson & Reggie, Alex & Luke Patterson (Julie and The Phantoms), Alex & Reggie (Julie and The Phantoms), Alex/Luke Patterson (Julie and The Phantoms), Alex/Willie (Julie and The Phantoms), Julie Molina & Reggie
Comments: 29
Kudos: 277





	1. Anxiety

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! first fic for the JATP fandom, be gentle
> 
> TW: anxiety, bad past with family

Alex knows he needs to do this; has known since the day they landed in Julie’s garage. However, actually being here, standing outside his old house, he would very much like to just poof back to the studio and be around his best friends. 

He didn’t tell anyone he was coming here, partially because he didn’t want to get an earful from Luke again and partially because he didn’t, and still doesn’t, know if he’s even going to go inside. 

He’s anxious to say the least. 

Okay, so he feels like Reggie’s sitting on his chest, and it's a little hard to breathe. 

But he has to do it. He has to know how his family is. He knows what Luke said about his parents is true, but his sisters? His sisters loved him, he knows they did. 

No one is home, if the empty driveway is any indication. Not that he would be disturbing anyone by being there anyway. 

‘Just go in, Alex,’ He keeps thinking to himself, yet hasn't moved in ten minutes. 

For some reason, he thinks something will change when he steps through the door. So he holds his breath, shuts his eyes, steps through the familiar door blindly.

He stands in the foyer for a minute, still holding his breath. He doesn’t know why, he doesn’t even have to breath anymore. Old habits die hard, he guesses. He’s used to holding his breath in this house.

He opens his eyes, looking around. Same end table that was nicked with scratches and cluttered with mail and things his dad would drop on it when he came home, forgetting it there for days. A cluttered coat rack sitting by the stairs, a line of shoes piled next to the door.

He almost has an urge to take off his sneakers, but he remembers it wouldn’t make a difference. He walks forward slowly, like he's walking around land mines. Another feeling he’s used to in this house.

The living room hasn’t changed much. There is a new couch; it’s leather now. He always wanted a leather couch. Allison always complained when he and Amanda would spill their juice on it and leave it for her to clean. The TV is bigger, taking up a lot more of the wall, and it’s shiny black surface was empty, without his reflection. His dad probably loved it.

He runs his hand over the quilted blanket he had taken naps under, had cuddled with Luke and Reggie during his first scary movie while his parents were away, had cried into when his parents left him alone after he told them who he really was. He doesn’t realize he’s clutching it until his rings bite into his fingers, making him let go.  
Alex takes a deep breath, looking over the fireplace. There’s a big family picture there, obviously taken after he had died. His mom and dad are smiling softly, holding Allison and Amanda’s shoulders in front of them. His mom has on her favorite sweater, the one he and his sisters had gotten her for Christmas two years before he died. His dad’s arm is around her shoulders, his wedding band glinting in the flash.

Alex can see the small silver ‘A’ necklace hanging at Amanda’s neck, her hands stuck in her pockets. She barely smiles at all as she looks at the camera, her blond hair softly curled around her shoulders.

Allison's smile is big, but forced. Like she’s compensating for everyone else. She always had a tendency to take on everyone’s load. It was one of the things that annoyed him the most, but also what he loved the best about her. He can see her clutching Amanda’s hand between them, like they are both holding onto something. He can’t tell what though, maybe it was just each other.

Alex is not going to let himself think about where he would fit in that picture. He doesn’t think he would.

He tears his eyes away, walking to the kitchen. Alex walks around the counter, smiling at the empty bread box with a loaf of plastic wrapped bread right next to it. He had always been the only one who bothered to put anything in the containers his mom bought. It gave him something to do with his hands, when he was nervous.

He walks through to the dining room, the tablecloth dusty and unused, the china cabinet filled with shiny and untouched plates. They barely ever ate in here unless it was a special occasion, and even then they ended up on the couch. 

Alex walks back around, back to the foyer, and looks up the stairs.

He had only walked through every other room so he could avoid going to his. Or to Amanda’s.

“You just have to get to the top, Alex.” He whispers to himself. It’s 15 steps. He’d counted them once. It was a part of his way of surviving here. He just has to make it up the steps. 

Then down the hallway.

Then to his door. 

Alex starts up the steps, turning his head to look at the pictures lining the way up. Both of his sisters in red caps and gowns. Allison with an honor roll sash around her neck, chords hanging from her shoulders. He expects to see chords for the drama club or newspaper hanging on Amanda’s shoulders, but there are none. She just gave the same soft smile at the camera, her tassel tangled amongst her curls. He would have fixed it if he had been there. Further up, he sees two more pictures that look too familiar to the others: their college graduation pictures. His sisters had gone to the same one, and looking at their matching stoles he realises they both joined the same sorority.

His sisters. In the same sorority. 

Okay...

There are other pictures too, pictures of them at sports games, family trips, old pictures of their grandparents and other relatives. But Alex doesn’t see any of him. Not even the ones that had been there before he died. Not that he was looking, he wasn’t. Definitely wasn’t.

Alex was still convincing himself when he saw his blond head in a dusty frame. He blows out a breath of air on it, clearing some of the gray. It’s the family photo they had taken the summer before him and Amanda started high school. 

Alex looked uncomfortable in his soft pink button down and slacks. He had had to fight his dad so hard to get to wear that shirt. The only reason he let him was because it was an Easter picture, and Amanda was wearing a matching dress. She had backed him up, even if she didn’t know why he wanted it so bad. But Alex wasn’t uncomfortable because of the shirt, or the way his dad’s hand clamped on his shoulder. He was nervous because he had planned to tell his parents he was gay the day they took that picture.

He can remember his palms sweating as the photographer said to smile, how he could barely make his mouth obey the command. There was an anxious ball of stress in his stomach, and all he had wanted to do was talk to Luke and Reggie. To have them behind him. 

They wanted to be there.

But it was something he thought he had to do alone. 

It was something he shouldn’t have done alone.

Alex feels the anxious knot in his stomach grow tighter, his vision starting to blur. His hands are clenched, his knuckles white.

He turns his head to look up and away from the photo. He only has five more steps.

“Just get to the top.” He breathes out shakily. His hands are shaking as he turns away from the picture, climbing the rest of the stairs.

Alex releases a sigh as he looks down the lit hallway, each of the doors clean and untouched. Him and his sisters' rooms were spread out evenly; Amanda’s at the top of the stairs, Allison’s in the middle of the hall, and his at the far end, in the room he and Amanda used to share.

He remembers how hard he had fought for that room, when Amanda said she was tired of sharing it with him. They had started bickering when their parents asked them who would be moving.

Amanda only fought because she didn’t want to move all her stuff. Truthfully, she had more things than him: diaries, stuffed animals, all kinds of toys. She felt that because she had more clutter, the room should stay hers.

But Alex fought her. He knows she thought it was just because he was being lazy, or that he wanted to annoy her. But that wasn’t it.

This room was the farthest away from anyone else. Alex needed it, for the sole reason that he’d be able to take a breath without being nervous. To study with Luke and Reggie without his mom barging in. To have a space where he could be him, as far away from them as possible.

Alex walks forward, peeking his head into Amanda’s room. The shelves still had some trophies covered in dust, the bed bare. There are boxes scattered around with various things of hers in them. But it isn’t lived in anymore. He figured that was plausible, her and Allison had probably moved away a long time ago.

He steps back, walking down the hall to peek in Allison’s room, in which he finds the same scene as Amanda’s.

Alex sighs. He misses his sister’s, a lot more than he thought he could.

Alex walks away from the door, walking to his at the end of the hall. The light on his end is dark, like the bulb hasn’t been changed in ages. He bites his lip, looking at his door. 

Alex doesn’t know why he doesn’t just phase through like he did with the other rooms. He still can’t think of a reason as he reaches out his hand to turn the gold knob.

But it doesn’t turn. It’s locked.

Alex frowns. His parents didn’t allow locked doors in the house. It had been a rule that had vexed him ever since he learned he was gay. So, basically his whole life.

His shoulders deflate, the tension falling out of his shoulders.

‘I don’t think I want to see how they destroyed it, made it just another storage room.’ He thinks. He purses his lips, wondering if he should try the knob again, when he hears a car pull up in the driveway. 

Alex’s chest tightens as he hears a car door slam. He blinks, the knot in his stomach getting tighter as he looks back at his bedroom door.

Julie would be home from school by now, he should go.

-

He poofs back to the garage and lands just outside the door. He can see inside, can see Luke and Julie sitting at the piano smiling while they talk. Reggie is sitting on the couch, bass in his hand and playing some chords. 

Alright, nothing happened. They don’t need to know. Just go in there and act normal. 

Act normal, right… Alex has always had a hard time with that phrase, because like ‘act normal?’ How is he supposed to do that?! It’s either acting or being normal, not both!

He takes a breath, shaking his hands out before walking through the garage doors. 

“Hey guys,” He says softly, gaining the attention of everyone. 

“Alex!” Julie exclaims, getting up from the piano to rush over and hug him. 

It’s been a thing since the night they played the Orpheum. In the week that has passed, Julie has grown to show her affection for the guys by touching them, whether it be by greeting them with a hug or just placing a casual hand on their shoulder or ruffling their hair. 

Alex doesn’t mind it. Okay, Alex thrives on it, he always has thrived on physical contact, no matter how small. That’s one of his love languages. 

“Hey,” He huffs in her ear, laughing a bit at his tiny friend. 

“Hey, how was Willie?” She asks, letting go of him.

“Willie?” 

“Yeah… The guys said you were out for a while, so I assumed you were with Willie. I shouldn't have assumed,” she mutters the last part, head down. 

“No, uh, it's fine- He's fine.”

He had been with Willie earlier. He needed to calm his nerves before going to his parents’. Willie helps calm him down. 

“Now that you're here we can start rehearsing,” Luke says, getting up from the piano. Alex nods and they all settle into their respective positions around the room. 

They get into rehearsing different songs, starting with “Great” then “Bright” and onto “Finally Free.” The rest of the band notice that Alex is a little off beat at times, and he can tell as they keep looking back at him. So, he tries harder to stay focused on the beat. He needs to just lose himself in the music. 

Yeah, the music.

The beat.

Singing. 

His younger sister Allison used to love it when he would sing. He would come home from school or band practice and she would be waiting for him. She wouldn’t go to sleep without him singing her a lullaby. Amanda, his twin sister, loved it too. He would always catch her at Allison’s door when he sang her to sleep. 

He misses his sisters.

Of course he misses his sisters, how could he not?

He wonders how they dealt with him leaving home, then ultimately dying. 

They… They had to have missed him, right?

What if they didn’t?

No, of course they did.

...right?

Shit, what if they hated him just as much as his parents did when he came out?

It's entirely possible. 

His entire family could hate him, not care that he died at all. He doesn't know. He doesn't know because his parents kicked him out, and then a few months later, he died. 

Around him, the band has stopped playing and are all looking at the drummer, not that he has noticed. No, he is staring at his drum kit, eyes unfocused, one drumstick now on the floor, and hands shaking a little bit. 

“Alex?” Julie calls out to him, making Luke and Reggie snap their eyes to her. 

“Julie, maybe you shouldn’t be here for this…” Reggie starts, making Julie frown. 

“What? No, something’s wrong with Alex. I’m not leaving him,” Julie refuses, stepping closer to the drummer. “Alex?”

Alex’s mind is running down a deep, dark hole. His spiralling thoughts take him further away from reality as the seconds pass. He is completely spaced out to the world. 

Two of the most important people in his life were his sisters, and if they felt the same as his parents, if they found out he is gay and cast him out… He honestly doesn’t know what he would've done. He didn’t get the chance to find out. Because he died. He’s dead. 

Maybe his parents wanted him this way after he came out. 

“Alex!” A voice startles him out of his thoughts. His eyes snap up to Julie, then he looks around to Luke and Reggie, all of them staring back at him with concern. He feels something wet drop onto his hand, and looks down to see water. He lifts his shaking hand to his face, wiping tears from his cheeks. 

“Alex, what-” Julie doesn’t get to finish her questions, because between one word and the next, he’s gone. “Do either if you know what’s going on?” 

“No.” Luke mutters.

“Julie, maybe we should just let him think for a while. He obviously wants to be alone right now,” Reggie says looking at Luke, who just shakes his head. “Julie, look, let’s go hang out in the house. You head there, we’ll poof in in a minute,” He adds, leading Julie out of the studio. “He’s gonna be fine.” 

Once the doors close and Julie is headed to the house, Reggie turns back to Luke, who is still staring at the drum kit.

“You don’t need to go after him.” 

“I do.” Luke says. 

“Luke-“

“No, Reg, something’s wrong!” Luke exclaims, snapping to face the bassist.

“Yeah, and don’t you think he would tell us about it if he needed to?” Reggie asks.

“No! Reggie, he used to do this all the time! It took him a week to tell us his parents kicked him out! He never wanted to tell us anything that went down with his… parents…” Luke trails off, realizing what Alex is dealing with. “Shit.” 

And Luke is gone. Poofed off to find Alex. 

Reggie sighs, then poofs into Julie’s room. She’s sitting on her bed, scrolling on her computer but looking nervous either way.

“Finally!” She looks up at him, “Where’s Luke?” 

“Luke went to go find Alex. He has a history of doing this.” 

“Poofing off out of nowhere?” 

“No, just… not telling when something is bothering him. And you know how Luke is… He can’t stand it when any of us are hurting, so… Off he went. Can’t stop him.” 

Julie smiles.

-

Luke drops in under the Santa Monica Pier, spotting his best friend a few feet from the edge of the water, knees curled to his chest and head down. He knew he would be here; This is where Alex would always come when things got bad. He liked to sit under the pier and listen to the people above, having fun and living their best lives. He walks up next to the drummer.

“‘Lex.” 

The simple nickname makes Alex look up to Luke. His eyes are red, tears are streaming down his face, and his whole body is shaking. Luke quickly sits next to him, almost falling over as Alex throws himself at him. He recovers, wrapping his arms around the drummer. 

“Hey… It’s gonna be alright…” Luke says softly. Alex nods his head against the guitarist’s shoulder as he continues to mutter soothing words to him. 

Alex tries to calm his breathing as Luke starts to hum a melody. Alex recognizes it, of course, as “Your Song” by Elton John. He tries to smile, remembering how Luke used to sing that song all the time…

Eventually, Alex’s breathing is back to normal and he has calmed down for the most part, so he lifts his head to look at Luke. 

“Hey…” He says, breaking eye contact and looking out at the water. Luke grabs his hand and pulls it into his lap, playing with his fingers. He uses it as an anchor, to let Alex know he’s still there if he loses himself again. 

“Do you wanna talk about it?”

“You don’t wanna hear it…” Alex mutters, looking at his bandmate again. 

“You… you saw your parents, didn’t you?” Luke asks, making Alex sigh and close his eyes.

“Yeah, man… Look, I don’t need a lecture about how I don’t need them, okay? You made your point the first time.” 

“Yeah, well… I was kinda hypocritical, wasn’t I?” Alex opens his eyes and looks at Luke again. “I shouldn’t have tried to keep you and Reggie from looking for your families when I did just that… I should’ve supported you guys.” 

“It’s fine.” 

“You know I’m here for you, right?” Luke says, putting a hand on Alex’s shoulder.

“Always.” Alex nods.

They sit in silence for a while, and Luke starts playing with Alex’s hand again. 

“Do you… do you want to talk about it?” The guitarist asks. 

“I-I mean I guess so…” Alex mutters before letting out a shaky sigh. “They weren't home. I-I stood outside the front door for like ten minutes like an idiot-”

“Hey,” Luke squeezes his hand, “needing time doesn't make you an idiot.”

Alex sighs shakily, “Yeah… I know, I know. Um…”

“Take your time. I’m not going anywhere.”

They sit for a few seconds, Alex just looking at Luke, before he speaks again quietly.

“The house looks the same, like nothing has changed in 25 years. I mean, they have a new tv and couch, some new pictures up, but other than that…” He shakes his head, twisting his hand around in Luke’s grasp before grabbing the guitarist’s hand and pulling it into his lap to play with his fingers, “They, um… They have one picture up of me.”

“One?” Luke repeats, furrowing his eyebrows.

“Yeah, one. It’s a family photo from right before I came out to them. Honestly, I’m surprised they have that much up…” He hears Luke mutter his name, so he squeezes his hand. “It’s fine, Luke…” He says but doesn't look at him, “They have Amanda and Allison’s graduation pictures hanging up, both from high school and college. They both joined the same sorority.”

“I never saw your sisters being sorority girls,” Luke laughs, making Alex smile. 

“Yeah, I can only imagine the trouble they got into,” Alex comments, “I miss them so much…” 

“Of course.” Luke knows how much Alex’s sisters meant to him. 

“They- My parents turned both of their rooms into storage rooms, after they moved out, I mean. Their beds are still there, though. I wish I knew where they moved to, I could go see them…” Alex stops talking when Luke doesn’t respond, looking over to see him just… staring, “Probably not a good idea, huh?”

“I… I’m not sure…” Alex nods at his answer, looking away again. 

“My room was locked,” Alex tells him. 

“Good thing we can walk through doors then,” Luke comments, “What was inside?” 

Alex stays silent. 

“Oh.” 

“I figured it was locked for a reason,” Alex explains, “I-I don’t think I could handle going in there and seeing how they destroyed the place, not by myself.” 

“Then I’ll come with you,” Luke gets up as he speaks, “We can go back together and I’ll go with you- that’s, only if you want to, of course.” 

Alex looks up at Luke, standing in front of him now with his hands held out. They stay like that for what feels like hours to Alex, a million thoughts running through his head, but is probably only a few seconds. He sighs and nods, grabbing the guitarist’s hands and being pulled to stand. 

“Okay,” Alex says, making Luke smile and squeeze the drummer’s hands, before they both poof away. 

-

So Alex stands in front of his old house again. He’s not as shaky this time. At least, he hopes he isn’t, because he’s still holding Luke’s hand and he wouldn't want to aggravate him by shaking constantly. 

“Hey,” He hears Luke’s voice, making him look away from the front door, “take as long as you need.” Alex squeezes his hand at that, his silent way of saying “thank you,” before looking back at the door. It takes a minute before he sighs, nods, and pulls Luke through with him. 

“Woah…” Luke mutters, looking around but never letting go of Alex’s hand as the drummer leads him around. They get to the living room before Alex halts to a stop, seeing both of his parents sitting in the living room: his dad watching tv while his mom reads a book. 

Luke stops looking around the house, memories of hanging around there flooding his brain, when he feels Alex halt and his hand goes tense. He turns to the drummer, hating to see the way he froze up. “Alex…” He whispers.

“I’m fine, just…” He doesn’t finish his sentence, not really knowing where to go with it. He shakes his head, squeezes Luke’s hand and pulls him forward, making a beeline for his old room. He drags Luke up the stairs, past all of the pictures that are not him, past his sisters’ empty rooms, and finally stops in front of his door, frozen. It's only a few seconds before he takes a deep breath, shuts his eyes and steps through the door, still pulling Luke with him. 

He doesn't open his eyes immediately; no, he still doesn’t want to see the disaster his room has been turned into. Instead he keeps them shut, firmly believing that if he doesn’t see it, then it's not real. 

“Alex…” He hears Luke say his name, somewhat in awe, before his eyes open to look at the guitarist. Instead his eye catches the room around them. 

His room. His room. His bedroom, with walls decorated in band posters and pictures of him and his best friends, his tv, his stereo and cd collection, his desk with his favorite little trinkets still on it. 

At some point, he lets go of Luke’s hand and slowly makes his way around his room, looking at everything there. It’s like he hadn’t left, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Until he gets to his closet, the door closed. So, he uses all of his energy to open it. The few clothes he had left at the house when his parents kicked him out are gone, replaced with pictures, amongst other things. 

Pictures, trinkets, unlit candles, real and plastic flowers fill the space his clothes once were. There are string lights hung around to decorate and tea lights on a small table put in the closet. The inside of the door is covered with stickers and pictures as well, ranging from when he was a baby to just before he died. There are notes on the table and hung around the pictures as well: he recognizes some of the handwriting, but not all of it. 

It’s the rainbow flags, plushies and stickers that make him gasp and stumble back before hitting his bed and slumping down onto it. 

“Alex!” Luke exclaims from across the room, where he was looking at a few pictures of the band hung on Alex’s wall. He rushes over, quickly looking at the drummer, whose gaze is still stuck on his closet, before following where his eyes are looking, “Woah…” He says breathlessly, sitting down on the bed next to Alex. 

“I…this-this-” Luke can sense Alex’s distress and grabs his hand again, easing it a small amount. 

“Are you… happy about this?” 

“No… Yes… I don’t- I don’t know…” Alex feels like he’s going to cry, but no. He refuses to, not over them. 

“It's okay, man. To not know how to feel about this, I mean,” Luke says, “I wouldn’t, and I’m pretty sure Reggie wouldn’t either.” 

“I just- Why couldn’t they have done this for me when we were alive? I needed this then, I needed their support and I needed them to love me! I needed my family to love me!” Alex is breathing more quickly than before as he rants. 

“Hey,” Luke says softly, getting the drummer to look at him, “We were your family too; We always will be your family, and we’ve always loved you.” 

“I know!” Alex sighs, running a hand through his hair, “I know, Luke. But this is-”

“It’s different, I understand. Still, we’re always here for you.” 

Alex nods at that, looking around his room one last time before sighing again, “let’s get out of here.” 

Luke nods as well, and they poof out, away from the Mercer residence and back to the empty studio, sitting on Luke’s couch. They sit for a moment before Luke stands.

“I'm gonna go get Julie and Reggie, okay? Or do you want to be alone for a while?”

“No, ah, nah, it’s fine. Go get them,” Alex answers him, but stops him just as he walks through the garage doors to go to the house, “Luke?”

His name being called makes the guitarist turn back and stick his upper body back through the door, “yeah?”

“Thank you. For coming with me today.”

For everything, Alex means, for being my friend, my family, for supporting me, for loving me, but he doesn't say. 

“Of course,” Luke smiles, “you know, me, Reggie, Julie, Willie… we’d do anything for you…” his smile turns to a smirk,”...Hot Dog.”

With a wink, Luke poofs away, leaving Alex rolling his eyes yet smiling with a slight blush on his face in the studio.


	2. Alternatives

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Woah, wait! We can't just go into someone’s house!” Alex exclaims.
> 
> “We _just went_ into Bobby’s house.” Reggie speaks up. 
> 
> “Well, yeah, but that was different! We actually knew Bobby!” 
> 
> “Who said we don’t know the person who lives here?” Luke says with a smirk, making Alex stop. 
> 
> “...What?” He questions, suddenly panicked trying to think about who could be inside that house, “Guys… whose house is this?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, it's been four months to the day that I posted the first chapter, and it wasn't meant to take this long but here it is. 
> 
> no beta we die like Sunset Curve

Luke lands with ease in Julie’s room, finding the singer and Reggie laying on their stomachs in front of Julie’s laptop, which sits at the end of her bed. The sound of him poofing in makes their attention shift from the screen to him. 

“Luke, you're back!” Julie says, scrambling up to get to him while Reggie holds the laptop to make sure it doesn’t fall off the bed. “Did you find Alex? Is he okay? Did he come back with you? Where is he?”

“Julie!” Luke stops her questions, placing his hands on her arms, “I found him. He’s in the studio…” 

He trails off, not knowing whether to say anything else. He locks eyes with Reggie, who’s been staring at the guitarist since he poofed in. The bassist shakes his head slightly.

Luke knows this isn’t his thing to tell Julie. If she wants to know, Alex has to be the one to tell her. 

“Look, Jules, Alex might not want to talk about what’s going on. Just be patient with him, he’s had a long day.” Luke tells her, making her nod before heading for her door. 

Reggie and Luke lock eyes again before poofing to the studio. They land sitting on either side of the drummer, who is kind of zoning out again. 

“...Alex?” Reggie speaks his name, making him come back to reality. 

“Oh, hey guys…” He trails off looking at both of them, “Where’s Julie?”

“She’s coming.” Luke answers him softly, throwing an arm across the back of the couch. Reggie does the same. Both of their arms brush Alex’s back, a small comfort for the drummer. 

“...does she know?” He asks, making both of them shake their heads. 

“It’s your thing,” Reggie mutters, “You tell her what you want her to know.”

Julie busts through the doors, quickly scanning the area before her sight falls on the boys. 

“Alex!” She runs over and pushes Luke to the side, sitting next to the drummer. 

“Hey!”

“No,” she glares at Luke before turning back to Alex, “hey.”

“Hi,” He smiles.

“Are you…” She trails off, searching his face, “feeling any better?”

“Uhm… I don’t know,” He tells her, keeping a shy smile, “Is that okay?”

The girl’s face drops and she throws her arms around him, “of course it is!”

He puts his left arm around her in as much of a hug as he can muster, “..okay.”

“You absolutely do not have to talk about it, but you know I’m here for you, right?”

“Always,” He answers the same way he had answered Luke earlier. “Uhm… Jules, Reg…” At their names, both of them look at the drummer, “After hanging out with Willie earlier, I went to see my parents…” 

He tells them the entire story of his day. 

“... I’m sorry about freaking out earlier and poofing off, I just-”

“No,” Reggie cuts him off, grabbing his hand, “You never have to apologise for something like this, not to me.” 

“Me neither,” Julie responds from where she’s still wrapped around his middle. 

Luke pats his shoulder, making the drummer look to him.

Alex smiles. 

They sit like that and talk about different things for about an hour before Julie needs to head inside, desperately needing to get some homework done before she heads to bed. 

\---- 

The next day, Luke knocks on Julie’s door, waiting to hear her mutter for him to enter before walking in. She’s sitting on her bed, laptop in front of her. 

“Luke, hey,” She greets him, smiling.

“Hey…” He trails off, looking around her room, suddenly nervous, “Can I talk to you for a second?”

“What’s up?” She asks, patting the spot next to her for him to sit down, which he does.

“Can you do me a favor?” He asks, finally looking at her. 

“Anything, Luke, you know that,” She smiles, recalling the exact words he had said to her before. 

“Well, it’s actually a favor for Alex,” The guitarist confirms.

“Is that supposed to change my answer? I would do anything for you guys, just ask,” She tells him, making him smile brightly. 

“Okay…” He mutters, gathering the strength to ask what he wants her to help with, “I want to find Alex’s sisters.”

Julie’s eyebrows rise at his question. “His sisters…” 

“Yeah!” He exclaims, getting so excited. At her wary glance at him, his smile drops, “Look… Alex’s sisters have always been his favorite people in the world. After his parents kicked him out, he would always sneak away just to see them, whether that be hiding in the bushes at their schools or hiding in the crowds at the mall. When I was sitting with him at the beach, he told me he wished he knew where they were so he could see them.”

“Are you sure it’s a good idea?” Julie asks.

“I don’t know, but if I don’t try, then we never will know,” Luke says, “Not being able to actually see them again before we died is one of the biggest regrets Alex has. He was going to figure out a way to invite them to our gig after the Orpheum… which obviously never happened.”

“Luke-”

“Julie, I need to do this for him. I need you to help me do this for him,” He says, taking her hands in his, “You know how much you going to see my parents meant to me, I’m just trying to do the same thing.”

Julie stares at their hands for a few seconds before sighing and picking up her laptop.

“What are their names?” She asks, making Luke’s smile outshine the sun.

“Amanda and Allison Mercer! But they may have gotten married, so I don’t know if that will change their names...” 

-

Two weeks later, Alex’s birthday to be exact, Luke and Reggie find Alex up in the loft looking through things. They had more stuff up there than they realised. 

“Alex,” Luke calls, making the drummer look down over the railing. His eyebrows raise when he sees his bandmates. 

“Hey… thought you guys would be out for longer.” Alex smiles. 

The two boys had gone with Julie to school that morning, making sure they had the right addresses for both Amanda and Allison before poofing there to check. From what they remembered of the girls, and from the pictures Luke saw at Alex’s house, they have the right places to go. 

“Yeah, well… we wanted to hang with you.” Luke says as Alex descends from the loft. Reggie nods. 

“We have someplace to show you.” The bassist says. 

“What? Where?” Alex’s eyebrows knit together as he speaks. 

“It’s no place bad, promise. You’ll see when we get there.” Luke smiles, clapping a hand on his shoulder. 

“...Okay…” Alex sounds very hesitant, but knows his best friends would never steer him wrong. 

Reggie and Luke both place a hand on Alex’s shoulders, poofing the group away from the studio and in front of a house, making the drummer confused. He looks up at the house in front of them, taking in the car in the driveway, and the empty space where another could go.. He looks to the steps leading up to the porch, which has a bench swing on it. The two story house is painted and off white color with a dark roof and red shutters. There’s a tree in the front yard with a tire swing on it. 

“Okay… I don’t understand what we’re doing here.” Alex says, turning around to face his best friends. 

“So come inside with us and see.” Luke tells him in return, smiling brightly as he starts to walk forward. Alex stops him.

“Woah, wait! We can't just go into someone’s house!” Alex exclaims.

“We _just went_ into Bobby’s house.” Reggie speaks up. 

“Well, yeah, but that was different! We actually knew Bobby!” 

“Who said we don’t know the person who lives here?” Luke says with a smirk, making Alex stop. 

“...What?” He questions, suddenly panicked trying to think about who could be inside that house, “Guys… whose house is this?”

“Come inside with us and see.” Luke says again, holding his hand out for Alex to take. Upon a huge to his side, Reggie does the same.

Alex looks back up at the house before dropping his gaze and taking their hands, letting himself be dragged up the porch steps and through the front door. 

A large entryway meets them upon entry, stairs and a foyer the first things Alex sees. He turns and sees a front room: a couch, TV, and some pictures on side tables filling the area. He moves to go see the pictures, but is stopped by Luke and Reggie pulling him down the foyer and into a living room with a view to the kitchen. The open concept room gives Alex a clear view of the woman standing in the kitchen, her blonde hair flowing down her back which is facing the three boys as she adjusts her oven, but her presence makes him freeze nonetheless.

“Guys, someone’s here!” Alex whispers, looking at his best friends beside him. 

“We know, Alex.” Luke replies, letting go of Alex’s hand to step in front of him. Reggie does the same. 

“Well, who-” Alex cuts off with a gasp as the woman turns around to grab a mixing bowl off the island. Her hair frames her familiar face as she brushes it back. Alex pushes the guys away as he rushes forward, reaching the other side of the island in a few seconds, never taking his eyes off of her as she pours the mixture in the bowl into a pan. Her eyes scan the area before she turns around again, and although he hasn't seen them in 25 years, he knows her bright green eyes still match his. He quickly turns away from her, seeing the guys still standing where he left them before his glance catches the glass door that leads to the backyard and he poofs himself there. He runs his shaking hands over his head, covering his eyes before running them through his hair. Then he hears Luke and Reggie phase through the back door. 

“Alex,” Reggie speaks calmly as they make their way over to him. 

“That’s-” Alex starts, breathing way too heavily for someone who’s dead, “That’s- That woman inside, that’s my sister?” He points and gestures towards the house. “Like, Amanda? Amanda Joy Mercer, that’s her?” He needs to slow his breathing, he knows he does. 

“Well, in so many words…” Reggie trails. 

“Hey, hey, Alex. Hey,” Luke says, moving closer to the drummer. They make eye contact and Alex knows the question the guitarist is asking without asking; he’s asking if he can touch him, if he can grab his hand or hug him, or do anything that will make him semi-calm again, to which the drummer nods, holding his hand out. “Come on, can you come sit down with us?” 

Luke leads Alex over to the back porch steps, sitting on the edge with him and Reggie. 

“...How?” Alex asks. How are they here? How did they find his sister? Just… how?

“That day… at the beach, you said you wished you knew where Allison and Amanda were so you could see them,” Luke explains, making the drummer nod, “I asked Julie to help find them.” 

“You did?” 

“‘Course, buddy.” 

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“We wanted it to be a surprise.” Reggie answers, a sheepish look on his face. 

“It… Well, yeah… Goal definitely achieved.” Alex breathes out. 

They sit for a few minutes, letting Alex breathe and come back to himself. Eventually, the drummer breathes and speaks again. 

“Okay… what now?” 

“Now, you go back in there and see your twin sister. And then we can go see Allison.” Luke tells him.

“Or,” Reggie starts, “we can leave.” 

Reggie sees the way Luke’s expression falls just a little bit at his words, but confirms what Reggie said either way, “yeah.”

Alex looks at both his bandmates before standing up and turning back towards the house. 

“Right… Let’s go then.” He tells them, watching them stand as well. 

One deep breath, and then he’s walking back into the house. He bee lines back to the kitchen, where Amanda is now sitting on the island with a mug and is scrolling through her phone. There’s music playing from a speaker, but Alex couldn’t say what song is playing. He watches her for a few minutes before the front door opens. 

“PIZZA DELIVERY!” A voice yells before the sound of the door shutting echoes through the house. Alex looks around, finding Luke and Reggie in the living room.

“In here!” Amanda calls to the person that just entered her house, and soon a short, dark haired woman enters the kitchen, pizza in hand. 

Alex looks at her, like really takes this woman in. She looks to be in her mid-thirties and is dressed in black jeans and a pink shirt. She’s thin and fit, and her shoulder length hair fades from black to a dark purple. She has a nose ring and is wearing light makeup. She’s not actually that short, maybe a little shorter than Luke. 

“Hey, just in time. Cake’s almost done.” Amanda tells the woman, hopping down from the counter and hugging the woman. 

“Happy Birthday. Luna will be here soon.” The woman says. 

“Thank you. Where’d she go?” 

“She went to get libations, dear sister.” She says with a fake British accent. 

Alex freezes, eyes blown out as he stares at her. 

“Alli?” He breathes out, never taking his eyes off of her. 

“Of course she is.” 

Amanda takes the cake out of the oven, placing it down on the stove above to cool and hopping back up on the counter. Allison does the same, sitting next to her. 

“Alright, this past year: what do you think?” Allison asks, making Amanda pause in thought. It's at this pause that Alex hops on the counter across from his sisters. 

“I think he and the guys would’ve put out another album and toured some, just like last year, and maybe even bring us along,” she starts, making Allison laugh, “We would’ve conned him into coming with all of us to Disney World,” Her sentence makes Alex smile.

“Please, he wouldn’t put up much of a fight,” Allison adds. She’s right. 

“Definitely not,” Amanda laughs out, “They would be in and out of the studio, writing and recording their own songs and working with younger bands, helping them out with writing and producing.”

“You always say that.” Allison adds. 

“Because they would!” Amanda replies, nudging her sister, “You know they would be those guys.” 

“I do,” Alli smiles. 

“What about you, what do you think?”

“I think…” Allison starts, “I think he would do all of the things you said. I think everything you said sounds incredible. He would do everything, and he would bring his family along with him.” 

Family. His sisters think he would have a family. Of course they do, and Alex hopes he would, but they probably think he would have a pretty wife and children. 

He sighs, wondering how disappointed they would be if they knew, as he stares at his fingers and fidgets with them.

“Obviously. What name did we give his husband again?” Amanda asks.

The drummer freezes at that, snapping his head up to them. Husband?

“Was it Joshua?” She continues, “Henry?”

“William!” Allison exclaims, hands waving around as she remembers.

“Yes, William, I can't believe I forgot. And they would be-”

“The cutest couple ever.” The two sisters say together, laughing. 

Alex can’t help the smile that appears on his face. They know. They know about him and they still love him and they made up this incredible life for him where he’s happy and still making music and married. _Married to a man._

A man named _William._

He blushes at the name. If only they knew. 

“You checked the memorial when you were at the ‘rents house last week, right?” Allison asks, making Amanda nod.

“Yeah, put some more flowers around too.”

The memorial? The one in the closet? They made it for him? 

Of course. 

He feels his eyes water up as he listens to them speak a bit more before the doorbell rings. 

“That must be Luna. COME IN!” Allison yells, resulting in the front door opening and closing shut before footsteps sound through the house.

A woman with light brown hair enters the kitchen, hair pulled back from her face with a bobby pin. She has light eyes and a slim face. She’s wearing blue jeans, brown boots and a white shirt with a jacket. She’s slightly taller than Allison, as Alex can see when his sister hops off the counter. 

“Hi, love.” The woman, Luna, smiles as Allison approaches her before leaning down to kiss her. 

“Hey babe.”

Alex is frozen, just watching the two interact. Luna places down the bag she was carrying, filled with drinks, before placing her arm around his sister. 

“Alright lovebirds, back to the discussion.” Amanda smirks. 

Both women roll their eyes and sit on the counter next to each other. 

“What were you guys talking about?” Luna asks, making the two sisters’ eyes light up. 

“Okay babe. This is your first year with us for Amanda and Alex’s birthday,” Allison starts, “Every year, we get together and bring food, drinks, and make a cake for him. And… we talk about him.”

“Talk about what?” 

“Well, we usually start with some things we think he’d be doing with his life.” Amanda explains. 

“Amanda will tell me stories about their antics from before I came around... and some from when I was around. Obviously, they’re much older than me, so I didn't always hang around them.” Allison adds, a small smile on her face. 

“We listen to music and ice the cake together, dance around the kitchen eating and drinking and-”

“Celebrating.” Allison says, cutting Amanda off. “It’s always a lot of fun. Plus, I get to spend my sister’s entire birthday with her!” She adds, pulling Amanda into a side hug.

Alex smiles. 

So does Luna.

Luna, his sister’s girlfriend. 

He smiles bigger. 

“Okay, so where in that process are we currently?” Luna asks with intrigue. 

“Well, now that we have drinks, we’re at the eating and drinking phase.” Allison answers, grabbing a bottle out of the bag, a bottle of red wine, and opening it. 

Amanda picks up the three wine glasses and places them close to Alisson so she can pour the drinks before handing them out. Allison grabs the pizza too. They talk about different things and listen to music, Amanda telling Luna about the life they thought up for him. 

“He sounds like an amazing guy,” Luna comments, making him smile, “I would’ve liked to meet him.” 

“He would love you.” Allison tells her, grabbing her hand and squeezing it. 

The song playing on the speaker changes, playing a familiar tune.

‘Seventeen and strung out on confusion…’

He of course recognizes it as ‘Coming Clean’ by Green Day. He would listen to this song nonstop when it first came out. 

“Alex loved this song.” Allison voices, making Alex smile. 

Both his sisters hop off the counter and sing along to the song, prompting Alex to do the same. He jumps around the kitchen with them, laughing as they butcher the vocals. He catches Luna smiling at Allison with a glimmer in her eye. 

His sister has a girlfriend who loves her so much, and he’s so proud of that, so happy for her. 

He also glances to the living room, where Luke and Reggie are sitting and sees them smiling at him. He motions them over to the kitchen with them, making the two laugh and oblige. 

The three women and three ghost boys settle again shortly after, Alex sitting between Luke and Reggie back on the counter. 

“Boys,” He says, making them look to him to listen, “This is Luna,” He waves a hand at the woman, “Allison’s girlfriend.” 

Reggie smiles and Luke laughs. 

“Allison’s girlfriend?” Luke laughs, “Damn, she’s got a better love life than we ever had.” 

“She seems nice,” Reggie comments, “I can tell by just looking at her how much she cares about Alli.” 

“Yeah…” Alex smiles. 

The women decorate the cake, doing an absolutely horrendous job but seemingly having the most fun. 

“I like it.” Allison smirks. 

“It looks like sprinkles exploded over it.” Amanda replies. 

“Oh, c’mon, that’s the best part.” Luna says, leaning against Allison. 

The brunette then smirks, swiping a finger in the icing and booping her girlfriend on the nose. This causes an icing fight between the two, his twin sister grabbing her phone and recording the moment. 

They both end up wrestling on the floor, icing on their faces, when the sound of the door shutting is heard. 

“Mom?” A voice calls through the house.

“In the kitchen, kid!” Amanda yells back. 

“She has a kid?” Alex finds himself whispering in shock.

Soon, a brown haired boy about 15 years old walks into the living room, standing on the other side of the island with a bookbag on his shoulder. 

“Xander!” Allison exclaims, popping up from the ground.

The boy smiles, “Hey Allison. Hi Luna.”

Her name makes the other lady stand up as well, smiling, “Alexander, hi.” 

Everything freezes. 

Alex can focus on nothing else but the scruffy brown haired kid standing there. 

_Alexander…_

Amanda named her kid after… him? 

“Alex? Alex!” He hears Luke call his name, feeling a hand on his shoulder, snapping out of his one-sided staring contest with the kid.

Amanda’s kid.

Named after him. 

He lets out a shuddering breath, turning to Luke. 

“He-” Alex’s breath catches, and he feels water on his cheeks. 

He’s crying?

He brushes a hand over his face, coming away wet. 

He’s crying. 

“It’s pretty cool, right?” Luke smiles, glancing at the kid before back to his best friend. 

“Yeah…” Alex whispers, crying still. 

“I’m not shocked he’s named after you,” Reggie comments, making both of them look to him, “She loves you more than anything, Alex.” 

The drummer gets off the counter and walks to his sister, standing at her side and seeing the bright grin on her face. 

“How was school, kid? And practice?” She asks, making Alexander smile. 

“Good,” He says, unzipping his bag and pulling out a card, “This is from the team.”  
He hands the card to her, Alex looking over her shoulder to see it’s a birthday card. She opens it.

“‘Happy Birthday to the best snack mom we have, from the Bobcat Soccer Team.’” She reads. 

Alexander goes to the same school as Julie?

“Everyone signed the card! That’s so sweet, thank you honey.” She walks through Alex and around the island to pull her kid into a hug. 

Alex stares at them, a smile donning his face. 

“I wish I could hug them,” Alex speaks, still staring, as tears make their way to his eyes again.

He hears two pairs of feet hit the ground behind him and step on either side of him. 

“We know, buddy.” Reggie says as they both place their hands on his shoulders. 

Alex breathes, taking in the sights before him and around him once more before he sighs, “Let’s go.” 

“Are you sure? We can hang out more.” Luke asks. 

“Yeah,” Alex smiles, "Let’s go back home.” 

-

They’re back at the studio for a few hours, hanging out and playing music, when Julie arrives back from school. 

“Happy Birthday Alex!” She yells, running to give him a hug. 

“Thank you.” He smiles, wrapping his arms around her. 

“How was your day?” She asks, glancing to Luke and Reggie quickly. 

“It was good,” He tells her, pulling away to look at her, “The best, actually.” 

“That’s great!” 

“Willie’s picking him up in a while, so best get as much Alex time as you want in now.” Luke tells her, making Alex roll his eyes.

“You’re gonna be back to do movie night with us, right?” She asks, giving him puppy dog eyes. 

“Of course.” He smiles. 

They all pile on the couch for a while before a ‘poof’ by the door alerts him, making him smile. 

“Hey, man.” Reggie greets. 

“Hey guys.” Willie says, “Alex, you ready to go?” 

“Yeah,” He says, getting up and walking to his boyfriend, “I’ll be back later, you guys.” 

The two boys walk through the garage door, the taller smiling at the shorter. 

“Wait until I tell you what happened today,” Alex tells him. 

“Can’t wait to hear it,” Willie replies.

They poof away, hand-in-hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i have an idea for doing a third chapter but idk if that's something anyone would want so let me know i guess :)


End file.
